BPOs cOntinue tO Be drawn tO new Office PrOjects in ceBu
With vacancy rates currently hovering at a very low 2 percent to 3 percent in Cebu City’s largest business districts, projects like the 21-story Johndorf tower at the Cebu Business Park (CBP) due for completion in two years’ time are entertaining inquiries this early.
Cebu City continues to be the second most preferred destination of business-process outsourcings (BPOs) after Metro Manila, according to Phillip Anonuevo, executive director of Leechiu Property Consultants, a leading real-estate services firm with an extensive client base covering Metro Manila and Cebu City.
BPO firms that have been driving the country’s office market for over a decade now naturally opt for Cebu when they decide to expand outside Metro Manila, he clarified. They are attracted to the Queen City’s rich labor pool, as well as its infrastructure including an efficient electric grid independent of Metro Manila’s. “This works well for BPO firms implementing redundancy plans,” he noted.
In addition, Cebu’s proximity to
other Philippine tourist destinations like Dumaguete and Bohol makes it an ideal place to set up business from the point of view of BPO foreign executives.
Moreover, rental rates now hovering from P500 to over P800 per square meter at the Cebu Business Park and the nearby Cebu IT Park remain affordable. Cebu Business Park is the most established business district in the city offering easy access to transport lines to all of the major residential areas, and a host of retail and dining choices at the nearby Ayala Center Cebu regional mall. Thus, lessees’ interest runs high in Johndorf Tower located on CBP’s main thoroughfare Mindanao Avenue, even if construction just commenced at the project last February.
The building offers a gross leasable area of 17,860 sq m. It has large floor plates designed to accommodate the needs of BPO firms which typically measure 1,400 sq m. Moreover, it is one of the few new projects in Cebu City that complies with the Fire Bureau’s new building density ratio of 1 pax:4.6 sq m.
Johndorf Tower is also one of the few buildings in Cebu that is aiming for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification. LEED Certified buildings reduce their own carbon footprint through building designs that maximize natural lighting and minimizes the need for air-conditioners. Occupiers of these buildings enjoy more efficient energy and water consumption, lowering their operating costs.
Its developer is Johndorf Ventures Corp., one of the leading residential developers based in the Visayas-Mindanao region with over 15,000 units sold in cities like Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao and a township in Cebu. Johndorf Tower is the firm’s initial foray into the office market.
In 2018, Cebu City accounted for 8 percent of the Philippines’s total office demand of over 1.5 million sq m next to Metro Manila’s 73 percent, according to a study by Leechiu Property Consultants. New projects like Johndorf Tower hope to increase Cebu City’s share of the pie.